Normally it is a trapping one associates with dentists' offices, Bond villains and Troy McClure on the Simpsons, but the fishtank has somehow become the status symbol of the moment.

There were reports at the weekend that Thierry Henry wishes to pull down his London house (it was only built in 1999) in order to construct a new home featuring a four-storey, 25,000-litre aquarium.

Henry is not the only footballer with a fish fetish. Aston Villa midfielder Stephen Ireland has a £100,000, 6,000l reef aquarium in his house. John Terry keeps fish; so do the Beckhams. Outsize tanks are also popular with oligarchs and hip-hop stars. Kanye West has one in his bathroom. Wyclef Jean has one in his car.

Henry's plan, though certainly among the grandest, is not quite as mad as it sounds. He actually means to install four separate tanks, one atop the other, creating the illusion of one very tall aquarium. But if you have ever kept a goldfish alive for more than a few months, you can imagine what a nightmare this would be. The weight of 25,000l of water is 25 tonnes. Cleaning, heating and lighting could cost as much as £12,000 a year. To maintain a decorative feature like this without letting it ruin your life requires very deep pockets indeed. And you don't even get to eat the fish.